


Time Won't Always Be in Our Favor

by emilyprobably



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Byleth is sad, Canon-Typical Violence, Drabble, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Short One Shot, Violence, byleth has too much pressure on her, claude dies but he come back, no lasting character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 04:27:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20168140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyprobably/pseuds/emilyprobably
Summary: Byleth rarely used the Divine Pulse. After failing to save Jeralt, she worked herself to the bone making sure that her tactics were strong enough to keep everyone safe. She could proudly say that most of the time, she did in fact make it through battles without the use of her more special abilities. This was not one of those battles.





	Time Won't Always Be in Our Favor

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about Byleth having to deal with the guilt of not saving Jeralt and dealing with the trauma of watching her friends die and then bringing them back. So this is really just Byleth struggling with that and Claude doing his best to comfort her.

Byleth rarely used the Divine Pulse. After failing to save Jeralt, she worked herself to the bone making sure that her tactics were strong enough to keep everyone safe. She could proudly say that most of the time, she did in fact make it through battles without the use of her more special abilities. This was not one of those battles.

In the preparations for this fight, the team predicted where enemy reinforcements would be coming from. For the most part, they were correct, and their strategy was working perfectly. That was until a surprise batch of archers appeared.

The archers was efficient, immediately targeting the closest wyvern rider. Claude was quick, but not quick enough to dodge all of the arrows launched at him. Byleth could only watch in horror as an arrow hit him in the middle of the chest with enough force he flew off his white wyvern. Her eyes watched his body plummet to the ground and land with a sickening crunch.

She ran to him, regardless of the risks, falling to her knees upon arrival. He was soaked with his own blood, and barely conscious. Byleth knew basic healing spells and wasted no time trying to pour all the healing magic she had into repairing Claude’s broken body.

It wasn’t working. His wounds weren’t healing. Byleth’s hands started to turn red from his blood, but she didn’t let up until every drop of her healing magic was used up. It did nothing.

“Teach… It’s too late. You’re going to have to move on without me.” Claude coughs out the words, while blood runs from his mouth and down his chin. Byleth is shaking, she can’t stop, but then she focuses. She hadn’t turned back time in a long time, but it wasn’t a skill that needed practice.

She feels time reverse to moments before the reinforcements arrive. Her hands are clean, but she can still feel Claude’s blood on her hands. “Claude! Get out of that area now!”

Claude’s fought under Byleth’s guidance for enough time that he moves without hesitation. When the archers arrive, Leonie and Raphael take them out with little trouble making this another battle where their whole team walked out relatively unscathed.

-

It’s late when Byleth hears a knock on her door. She already knows who it is, he always comes around this time. “Come in.” The door creaks as it opens and closes, but otherwise her guest is silent. That is, until, he falls face first on her bed and lets out a rather large groan.

Byleth doesn’t look up from her desk, as this too had become a common occurrence.

“That battle took a lot out of me today, but hey, at least we made it out all right.” Claude’s voice was slightly muffled from the pillow he laid on, but still understandable. “My love, come to bed. We won today. That warrants a small break.”

She wants nothing more than to fall asleep in his arms, but Byleth can still feel his blood on her hands. She’s sure that if she looks at him, she’ll see his face bruised and bloodied, the Claude who died in battle from a timeline she erased. So instead she’ll continue working on strategy, so she doesn’t have to rely on her divine gifts. “I’ll come to bed in a little bit.”

She hears Claude sigh behind her, before he rises from the bed and moves behind her. His hands fall to her shoulder, and his chin lands on top of her head. “I’m here. I’m okay.”

“You died.”

“No, I’m here. You saved me.”

“I have to be better. I saved you this time, but next time the Divine Pulse might not change anything. I can’t take that chance. You can’t end up like-” She’s crying again. Byleth remembers the first time she cried, holding Jeralt’s body. Although her stony exterior was ever present when she was in public, in private, her emotions were left unchecked ever since that day.

Claude manages to pick her up out of her chair, and brings her to bed, blowing out the candles on the way. He wraps himself around her, whispering reassurances to Byleth as she cries.

“I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> p.s. I have a tumblr that I usually use just to reblog things but if you want to talk about Fire Emblem or Claude feel free to hit me up there
> 
> emilyprobably.tumblr.com


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